Find out what the Homarus Eco-Centre is doing to main the lobster resource and you will help this baby lobster—called a larva—grow!

1 – Do you see lobsters mating?

Lobsters mate in a sheltered location in the summer when the female has just moulted and her shell is still soft. Once they have mated, the male protects the female for a few days, until her shell hardens.

1. Lobster mating

Good for you! Lobsters lay thousands of eggs but, in the first few weeks after hatching, very few survive.

2- Do you know what is used to catch lobsters?

Homarus Eco-Centre rears the lobster larvae and releases them when they are stronger. First step: go lobster fishing and catch females carrying eggs.

2. Lobster fishing

Yes!We use a baited lobster trap. Careful! You need a researcher to try to catch females carrying eggs because they are protected.

3 – Find out how to choose a lobster.

Once the trap has been brought on board ship, the lobsters need to be sorted. Only lobsters of a certain size can be kept.

3. Choosing lobsters

Bravo! The lobsters that are too small are released back into the sea.

4 – Do you see a female with her eggs?

Female lobsters carry their eggs on their lower abdomen for 9 to 12 months.

4. Female lobster carrying eggs

Super! Once they’ve been caught, the females are brought to the hatchery.

5 – Do you see the hatchery?

At the hatchery, the female lobsters are placed in basins containing seawater. The temperature, salinity and oxygen conditions are optimal for the eggs to continue developing.

5. Hatchery

Well played! After a few weeks, the eggs hatch into larva, which are fed with small crustaceans called artemia.

6 – Can you find the lobster larva?

Young lobsters go through four larval stages before they are strong enough to be released back into the sea.

6. Lobster larva

Bravo! In stage IV, the larvae already resemble small lobsters.

7 – Do you see how the stage IV lobsters are released?

In stage IV, the lobster larvae are cannibals and fight each other constantly. As a result, it is difficult to keep them in the hatchery any longer: they have to be released into the sea.

7. Larvae release

Good for you! In the sea, the larvae are placed gently on the sea floor using a tube. From there on, the small lobsters will hide and continue growing.

Congratulations! You have helped the lobsters survive.

1. Lobster mating

Lobsters mate in a sheltered location in the summer when the female has just moulted and her shell is still soft. Once they have mated, the male protects the female for a few days, until her shell hardens. Lobsters lay thousands of eggs but, in the first few weeks after hatching, very few survive.

Photo: Exploramer/Gérald Hallé

2. Lobster fishing

Homarus Eco-Centre rears the lobster larvae and releases them when they are stronger. First step: go lobster fishing and catch females carrying eggs. We use a baited lobster trap. Careful! You need a researcher to try to catch females carrying eggs because they are protected.

Photo: Caroline Julien

3. Choosing lobsters

Once the trap has been brought on board ship, the lobsters need to be sorted. Only lobsters of a certain size can be kept. The lobsters that are too small are released back into the sea.

Photo: Écocentre Homarus

4. Female lobster carrying eggs

Female lobsters carry their eggs on their lower abdomen for 9 to 12 months. Once they’ve been caught, the females are brought to the hatchery.

Photo: Écocentre Homarus

5. Hatchery

At the hatchery, the female lobsters are placed in basins containing seawater. The temperature, salinity and oxygen conditions are optimal for the eggs to continue developing. After a few weeks, the eggs hatch into larva, which are fed with small crustaceans called artemia.

Photo: Homarus Ecocenter

6. Lobster larva

Young lobsters go through four larval stages before they are strong enough to be released back into the sea. In stage IV, the larvae already resemble small lobsters.

Photo: Écocentre Homarus

7. Larvae release

In stage IV, the lobster larvae are cannibals and fight each other constantly. As a result, it is difficult to keep them in the hatchery any longer: they have to be released into the sea. First they have to be sorted. In the sea, the larvae are placed gently on the sea floor using a tube. From there on, the small lobsters will hide and continue growing.